The Six Nations chief commercial officer was diagnosed with incurable and inoperable EGFR lung and bone cancer aged just 40 two years ago and has since gone on to courageously carry out inspirational charity endeavours to raise funds to help others.
Having set an initial fundraising goal of £300,000 to raise funds for Velindre Cancer Charity and the QuicDNA (cancer genomics) project, he’s since completed cycling challenges including a 320-mile ride from Cardiff to Paris, a 420-mile ride from Paris to Bordeaux and CARTEN (Cardiff to Tenby 100-mile cycle) to be on the verge of smashing through the one-million-pound barrier.
Maxwell’s next challenge begins tomorrow when he starts walking 576 miles and cycling 204 miles, a total of 780 miles, of the Wales coastal path.
The challenge starts in Chester and will finish at Principality Stadium on Sunday 10th March for the Wales v France Guinness Six Nations match, where he will be accompanied by his children, Isla and Zach. They will have the honour of carrying the match ball onto the pitch.
In addition to the likes of ex-Wales rugby stars Shane Williams, Rhys Williams, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts and Sam Warburton, current members of Warren Gatland’s backroom team, Martyn Williams and Huw Bennett will also be joining the quest at various stages of the challenge.
Former England cricket captain Sir Andrew John Strauss OBE is the latest sporting celebrity to confirm he will be joining the walk.
Maxwell aims to continue to fundraise and raise awareness of the Maxwell Family Fund at Velindre. The funds raised will help support research and development of new and innovative cancer testing methods and treatments in Wales.
The reason for 780 miles is that it took 78 days for Maxwell to be diagnosed with a rare form of genetic lung cancer, EFFR+, which is an inoperable, incurable stage 4 diagnosis.
Through a series of fundraising events such as the London Marathon, Cardiff to Paris bike ride, Paris to Bordeaux bike ride, and Welsh 3000s to name a few, Maxwell has so far raised nearly £1 million for Velindre Cancer Care.
He is aiming to complete his next challenge in 26 days, which is the amount of time he hopes to help to reduce the diagnosis time by.
A match ball will be carried the entire distance of the challenge, symbolising the collective fight against cancer. A host of famous faces from the rugby and media world will be joining various legs of the walk.
The full route and list of celebrities:
Day 1 – Weds 14th Feb – cycling – Chester to Menai Bridge
Day 2 – Thurs 15th Feb – Menai Bridge to Moelfre – Shane Williams
Day 3 – Fri 16th Feb – Moelfre to Cemaes Bay – Shane Williams
Day 4 – Sat 17th Feb – Cemaes Bay to Holyhead – Rhys Williams
Day 5 – Sun 18th Feb – Holyhead to Aberffraw – Rhys Williams
Day 6 – Mon 19th Feb – Aberffraw to Treborth – Shane Williams and Rhys Williams
Day 7 – Tues 20th Feb – Treborth to Trefor – Gethin Jones
Day 8 – Weds 21st Feb – Trefor to Porthor
Day 9 – Thurs 22nd Feb – Porthor to Machroes
Day 10 – Fri 23rd Feb – Machroes to Borh-y-Gest
Day 11 – Sat 24th Feb – cycling – Borh-y-Gest to Aberystwyth
Day 12 – Sun 25th Feb – Aberystwyth to Llandysul – Ryan Jones
Day 13 – Mon 26th Feb – Llandysul to Cardigan – Josh Navidi
Day 14 – Tues 27th Feb – Cardigan to Goodwick – Shane Williams & Liam Reardon
Day 15 – Weds 28th Feb – Goodwick to St Davids – Sam Warburton
Day 16 – Thurs 29th Feb – St Davids to Nolton Corner – Ian Gough
Day 17 – Fri 1st Mar – Nolton Haven to Dale – Jamie Roberts
Day 18 – Sat 2nd Mar – Dale to Pwllcrochan – Ieuan Evans
Day 19 – Sun 3rd Mar – Pwllcrochan to Stackpole – Wynne Evans & Rupert Moon
Day 20 – Mon 4th Mar – Stackpole to Pendine – Jamie Robinson & Tom Shanklin
Day 21 – Tues 5th Mar – Pendine to Carmarthen – Lauren Jenkins, Sir Andrew Strauss
Day 22 – Weds 6th Mar – Cycling – Carmarthen to Rhossilli – Jonathan Davies
Day 23 – Thurs 7th Mar – Rhossilli to Swansea – Martyn Williams, Huw Bennett & Nicky Robinson
Day 24 – Fri 8th Mar – Swansea to Porthcawl – Derek Brockaway & Jamie Baulch
Day 25 – Sat 9th Mar – Porthcawl to Barry – Gethin Jones
Day 26 – Sun 10th Mar – Barry to Cardiff – Friends and family
